Hwiyeom's Return
Returning at last to the Sichuan Dang Family after several long months away, Hwiyeom took stock of the clan's situation—and of the many changes that had piled up in his absence—and delivered his assessment as follows:
"Wh-what in the world is this?"
So flustered was he that a scrap of hometown dialect he had barely used even in his previous life after coming of age slipped out unbidden.
"This is a complete mess."
Indeed it was. The Sichuan Dang Family was a shambles; put more politely, it looked extremely chaotic.
Approvals and reviews that should have been finished long ago were stacked like mountains. Work had stalled on the lower floors while those above floundered over what to tackle first, tangling everything further with every passing hour.
"How did it get like this in just a few months?"
Tilting his head, Hwiyeom skimmed the reports and soon found the cause.
"We started too many projects at once, and nobody directed the traffic."
He clicked his tongue.
Even if he had been away—even if he had taken both his first and second secretaries with him—was the household supposed to collapse into this state the moment he left?
It had not been like this when he left for Yunnan before. Had discipline simply gone soft?
"Back then you didn't dump this many assignments on us all at once, Young Master!!"
Elder Bak Chang-eon ground his teeth as he protested.
"You throw this mountain of work at us to finish in such a short span and still expect the household to stay intact? A man ought to have some conscience!"
"Hmm."
After a moment's thought, Hwiyeom nodded.
"In short, this is the current limit of our people's work capacity."
Instead of muttering something like Roughly got it—your level is so pathetic I want to die of boredom, Hwiyeom let out a long sigh.
"Still, you understand there was no other choice, right?"
"…If that hadn't been the case, I would have gone and lain down flat in the Patriarch's Hall."
Hwiyeom's order to hide the Dang Family's greatest secret before the emperor's surveillance reached the clan's heart could not be ignored.
"I understand. You've worked hard."
"I would appreciate it if you would bestow appropriate rewards on the staff who suffered."
"I had an audience with His Majesty and received gold, silver, and jewels. I'll share those out."
After a private conference with Emperor Sungui at Grand Eunuch Jang's residence, Hwiyeom met the emperor again a few days later in an official setting, exchanged some empty "official conversation," and took his leave.
Emperor Sungui praised Hwiyeom for providing relief across Yunnan in the emperor's stead and bestowed a great deal of gold, silver, and jewels as a reward, also entrusting him with a meritorious service plaque to deliver to the Sichuan Provincial Administration Commissioner.
But that was all. It was highly glorious and financially profitable, yet nothing more.
The central politicians who had been watching with hawk-like eyes, wondering whether the emperor meant to do something through the Sichuan Dang Family, were finally able to breathe sighs of relief.
Hwiyeom first took over Dang Un-sang's duties—Dang Un-sang used a full month's vacation the moment Hwiyeom arrived—then conducted a proper distribution of rewards to commend those who had worked hard.
Those who had secretly carried out many tasks under Hwiyeom's instructions finally regained their composure after receiving treasures and rest under the pretext of "rewards for labor during the Young Master's absence."
Hwiyeom visited the Poison Hall and inspected the newly built underground research facility.
"Better than expected."
The Central Plains had already constructed the First Emperor of Qin's massive underground tomb. Combined with Hwiyeom's guidance and the skilled hands of Dang Family craftsmen tempered by countless construction projects, the underground research facility looked far wider and safer than imagined.
It connected the basements of the Poison Hall and the Innovation Hall, with facilities for producing gunpowder installed at the midpoint.
"We couldn't run gunpowder explosion tests in a sealed underground space, so we cut a separate passage first."
When Construction Department Head Gwak Do lifted a lantern and pointed at one wall, a long railway could be seen stretching away beneath a chain of torchlights in the darkness beyond.
Probably the first subway in the Central Plains—no, the first in the world.
"The explosion test site is a basin near the State-run Ironworks. From the midpoint the railway joins the line running to the State-run Ironworks, so outsiders can't easily tell. And if it is discovered from outside, we've equipped this place with storage and repair facilities for steam locomotives so we have an excuse ready."
"A depot and maintenance yard, then. Perfect as a cover. You've worked hard."
By placing the explosion test site near the noisy State-run Ironworks, they reduced the chance of outside exposure; even if discovered, they could claim it was a construction site for Chojeon saltpeter fields. Having laid railway to transport heavy firearms showed meticulous care.
"The ventilation openings of the balanced ventilation system emerge throughout the garden, disguised as indoor decorations."
"Good method."
A mushroom ventilator is easy to understand if you picture the spinning vents on apartment rooftops.
Since dealing with toxic chemicals and gunpowder without underground ventilation would obviously lead to disaster, Hwiyeom had insisted on its installation.
"We built a steam engine for internal ventilation; the steam turns a windmill, and the pinwheel connected to the windmill's drive shaft rotates in the ventilation device to draw internal air out and push outside air in."
Each time he heard Gwak Do's explanation, Hwiyeom nodded with a satisfied expression—until he frowned slightly at the torches hanging on the walls.
"Everything's good, but the lighting is terrible."
"We considered obtaining night-glow pearls and embedding them, but the cost… and they're hard to get so suddenly…"
"Night-glow pearls, huh…"
Hwiyeom honestly found it hard to believe in those so-called night-glow pearls.
Ores that emit light on their own in nature? Where was the guarantee that wasn't the Cherenkov effect—radioactive material glowing blue?
Having zero desire for a "Curie death," Hwiyeom did not care for the idea of night-glow pearls.
"I'll research the indoor lighting problem further myself. Leave it as is for now. Don't spend the budget hunting night-glow pearls."
"Yes."
Hwiyeom arrived at the underground explosives research facility connected from the Poison Hall.
"Nothing here yet."
"The Dabal-shinggi-jeon you ordered is under development at the Innovation Hall above ground."
"Hmm, good. I'll issue separate instructions soon."
Satisfied, Hwiyeom left the Poison Hall.
His next stop was the Innovation Hall.
Researchers including Dang Unhwa were waiting for him.
"Welcome!!"
Dang Unhwa's bright smile contrasted sharply with the faces of the researchers, who looked as if they had met Buddha in hell.
"I've been waiting and waiting to show you the Dabal-shinggi-jeon. Type A! Type B! Even Type C! Come on! Let's go see them right now! Come on! Come oo-on!!"
"Whoa, whoa~ Settle down a bit, Director Dang Unhwa."
Hwiyeom said with a wry smile.
"The launch test site is an open lot outside, right? I'd like to bring my fiancée along."
The Innovation Hall was a secure facility, but outside observation was not, so Hwiyeom intended to show Sama Yun the Dang Family's power.
Dang Unhwa's eyes gleamed.
"Oh-ho!! For the future matriarch! Excellent! Today I'll show her a proper, super-charged explosion!"
He had always been high-tension, but lately he seemed to be lightly leaving the bounds of normalcy and entering mad-scientist territory, which unsettled Hwiyeom.
Still, as they say, when cringe reaches the extreme it passes through the uncanny valley and climbs Mount Great Delight—Dang Unhwa's transformation into an explosion maniac was so farcical it was almost reassuring.
Thus Hwiyeom headed to the explosion test site with Sama Yun and the Sama Clan bodyguards.
"First, Type A Dabal-shinggi-jeon!"
Seeing the researcher drag out the multi-launch rockets under Dang Unhwa's orders, Hwiyeom nodded at the oriental-style multiple rocket launcher.
As expected of Uncle Unhwa—he's dead serious when it comes to explosives development.
"Effective range is about two to three hundred jang—six to nine hundred meters—and it fires a hundred rockets at once. The explosion scorches an area thirty to fifty jang across. Watch. Fire!"
"Fire!"
When the researcher lit the fuse, the sound of the wick burning came, and within seconds—
Whoooosh! Whoosh! Whooooosh!!
Like a school of salmon leaping up a river, the rockets began shooting out in succession from the launcher's holes.
Even Sama Yun, who never lost her smiling face, gaped as she watched the wondrous spectacle she had never seen before.
But the real surprise came next.
As the rockets that had drawn parabolic arcs began to pour onto the empty field—
—KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA!!!
With an explosion that made the field ring, small pillars of fire rose endlessly.
The blasts continued for a long while, and when the last one ended, only dozens of craters and blackened soil remained, allowing one to guess the power of the bombardment that had just occurred.
Sama Yun forced her mouth open.
"I-if the power is this strong, an army of ordinary soldiers could literally be melted away. Even for martial artists, unless they leave the scene with lightfoot skill fast enough to avoid this wide-area impact, or possess Hosin-ganggi strong enough to endure the shock, they would take massive damage without question."
"Heh heh heh, it's still early to be surprised. Next up is Type B!"
"How is Type B different?"
When Hwiyeom asked, Dang Unhwa grinned, showing bright red gums.
"Leave that as a pleasure for after you see it yourself! Puhehehehe!"
"…Very well."
Thus the Type B Dabal-shinggi-jeon was fired again.
"Fiiire!"
—Pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-pop-BANG!!
As always, the second viewing of a shock is milder than the first, and Type B's explosions were somewhat weaker than Type A's.
As Sama Yun tilted her head thinking Is this a defective product? and the Sama Clan bodyguards murmured quietly, Dang Unhwa grinned as if he had been waiting.
"Seems weaker than before, right? But I believe the lethality is actually higher with this one."
"Why is that?"
When Sama Yun asked, Dang Unhwa's eyes sparkled as he looked at Hwiyeom; Hwiyeom stroked his chin and nodded.
"You packed caltrops among the explosives to increase lethality? The gunpowder is reduced by the weight of the metal fragments so the blast power is weaker, but the shrapnel scattered in all directions on explosion means the killing power is definitely stronger on this side."
At Hwiyeom's words, Dang Unhwa beamed.
"As expected of the Young Master! Exactly so! It was inspired by the structure of the Dangroe. According to tests, it cleanly penetrated even doujeong-gap armor—sturdy armor made by attaching iron plates under thick leather! One volley of this and even the government troops will be wiped clean!"
"Don't go saying that anywhere. Want to make us a family of traitors…?"
"Kihihihit! Understood. Lastly, let's see Type C before you go."
"Type C… Very well."
At the creaking sound of the Type C Dabal-shinggi-jeon being dragged out, everyone paid attention.
Type C looked somewhat different from the Type A and Type B they had seen.
Compared to Type A and B, which had looked like multiple rocket launchers firing bundles of missiles the thickness of a forearm, Type C had only nine holes for the missiles, and their diameters were wider. Overall, its shape evoked a mortar more than a rocket launcher.
"This isn't in the blueprints I gave you?"
When Hwiyeom showed curiosity, Dang Unhwa chuckled.
"It's a substance using an explosive we developed by chance during experiments. Watch!"
"Very well."
"Aaaall right! Fiiire!"
—Pop-pop-pop-BANG!!
Piiiiiiiiiiiiiooooo-----
The shells of the Type C Dabal-shinggi-jeon were elongated with fat middles, reminiscent of a blowfish. Thus, unlike Type A and B which flew like arrows, stuck, and exploded, Type C soared high into the sky, trailing a whistling wind sound, drawing a gentle parabola as it flew and fell.
And the moment the warhead struck the ground—
BOOOOOOM-!!
Whooooosh-!!
In an instant, tremendous flames swept in all directions, turning dozens of jang into a sea of fire.
"Whoa?!"
As Sama Yun covered her mouth without thinking and the Sama Clan people shuddered, Dang Unhwa could not hide his excitement, trembling and flailing his limbs.
"Krrrrrrrr!! This is it! Burn! O earth! O heavens! This is the fire of the Dang Family! Muahahahahaha!!!"
Hwiyeom stared blankly at the hell of fire that had appeared in the distance, then muttered without realizing it.
"…Toluene? No—this smell is white phosphorus?"
Just what the hell has this madman created.